[igemini]

Excellent!

This is what we called commitment towards safety and safe cars for India. Well done TATA. Frankly, I have never expected it will score 5 stars but was expecting 4 stars for sure.

Though I made fun of the name "Punch" in the initial days due to the commuter engine, now I am convinced that the name "Punch" was indeed an apt name. This car definitely Punches above its weight in terms of safety, especially for the cost.

Regardless of the ownership/dealer/after-sales experience, TATA nailed it with this product. This is what we expect for all car manufacturers.
Now sell it with some much-needed engines and AT combos. This would be the perfect small car everyone will need.

In the past, I used to work for a company. And literally, the following was one of their actual product. I don't know why I mentioned that here.

[FHW]

Great going for TATA with Punch securing a 5-Star rating. TATA has set a precedence in terms of safety norms which otherwise were not concentrated upon either by the manufacturers or the buyers. The results with Punch are even better than their in-house Nexon and Altroz.

[Wason4699]

Frankly speaking Tata Cars scoring 4 Stars and above in NCAP ratings doesn't make us jump our seats . Tata s have earned the reputation that if they ll make a car it ll be safe.(Harrier and Safari) would be thinking otherwise we know.

The line is drawn bold and strong and the message is sent loud. We ll make Strong cars with sluggish engines. Now its onto us junta that we buy Dil se strong or Really Strong.

[careind]

TATA take a bow and a punch. The group companies are in in the news for all the Right reasons this season.
Hope the junta gives TATA the thumbs up so that they can carry on with their good work.

[quattroa4]

First things First, Congratulations to Tata Motors for an overwhelming results in such a category where these things like safety doesn't exist at all, mighty good results.
Now Punch will set the standard among small cars/ suv which in near future is hard to beat . Tata is offering small vehicle owners that thing which even a 20 lakh vehicle by competitors can't offer .

[jkrishnakj]

The mentality of ‘Kitna deti hai’ will be long gone and the educated car buyers will soon look at ‘kitna safe hai’ before spending their money.

Well done Tata.

[vsrivatsa]

Great news and Kudos to Tata for bringing Safety at mass market Levels. So, the safest car in the country is now a sub-10L car. What a Punch! Amazing!

Having said that, the Punch's engine is a very big compromise one has to make for the Safety on offer. No doubt this car is better than all the Alto, Kwid, Celerio and Wagon-Rs (lower variants) being sold with similar 3-cylinder configurations - however, I would still find it hard to pick a 3 cylinder engine over a 4 cylinder engine.

While I encourage people to pick safety over aesthetics and bling such as a Touchscreen or an Air Purifier, in my opinion an engine is also a fundamental aspect of an automobile and the 3 cylinder here is a big misfit unfortunately. Hope they bring in the electric and Turbo Petrol avatars sometime in the near future.

[AllisWell]

Fantastic! Tata's emphasis on safety is commendable. I really don't see why any buyer with some knowledge about the automobile world would choose the likes of alto, celerio etc over the Punch. Sure, the engine may not be the best in the segment but I'd say it is going to do just fine for city commutes, which is what most of these cars would be used for majority of the time.

Even on the occasional highway trip, it's much better to cruise at 80 or 90 in a 5 star rated car rather than a poorly built car whose only advantage is going to be better refinement.

I do not believe factors such as increased refinement or free-revving nature of the engine as a convincing enough argument to pick them over safety.

With that said, while Tata has a great line-up, the consistency in the after sales is what will decide the fate in the long term. People are starting to notice and appreciate Tata and it's time to build some customer loyalty by providing them with consistent and fair ownership experience.

[Lobogris]

Great achievement. However, I feel cars missing basic safety features like ESC and side and curtain airbags should not be given a rating over 3 starts. 4 stars should be awarded for having ESC and 6 plus airbags while 5 stars should be limited to the aforementioned features plus autonomous emergency braking being available as a standard feature. By awarding 5 stars to a vehicle like the Punch or Altroz as well as to the Volvo XC90, we are sort of lowering the value of a 5 star rating. This doesn’t mean we should discourage well built cars. We just need to push the manufacturers to include even more safety features. Whether this is achieved by making the 5 star rating more strict or creating a new 6 and 7 star rating is fine by me. I am aware of the upcoming change from July next year but it is a little late. Now for the next 5 years or more, companies can keep selling the Nexon or the Punch with a claim of 5 stars.

[PrasannaDhana]

Originally Posted by Lobogris

Now for the next 5 years or more, companies can keep selling the Nexon or the Punch with a claim of 5 stars.

It's not just a claim. It's a proven fact that these cars are safer.

Now even a global NCAP 5 star rating loses value. Why? Because budget Tata cars get the same rating as much expensive international cars? That's sad!

Did 6 airbags matter in Seltos crash test? Or did the driver airbag give a better crash rating in the kwid? Nopes.

Why can't we, for once appreciate that a manufacturer is delivering cars with stable body structure at budget prices?

Guess we all have been used to being "vocal for local". Vocally negative about anything local that is.

[The Rationalist]

Originally Posted by Lobogris

By awarding 5 stars to a vehicle like the Punch or Altroz as well as to the Volvo XC90, we are sort of lowering the value of a 5 star rating. Now for the next 5 years or more, companies can keep selling the Nexon or the Punch with a claim of 5 stars.

There's not only a rating, but there is points also assigned. People can compare and decide which is better.

About Tata claiming 5*, they can only give a car and it's GNCAP who has set the test parameters. If the test parameters changes, GNCAP can test again. What's the fault of Tata here? They should have waited for new regulations to be implemented? All the cars which had 5* ratings in all countries had gone through the same issue when regulations became stricter.

[Bhupesh_2628]

Originally Posted by Lobogris

We just need to push the manufacturers to include even more safety features. Whether this is achieved by making the 5 star rating more strict or creating a new 6 and 7 star rating is fine by me. I am aware of the upcoming change from July next year but it is a little late. Now for the next 5 years or more, companies can keep selling the Nexon or the Punch with a claim of 5 stars.

Hi Lobogris,

I can somewhat relate your understanding.

GNCAP crash-test ratings will get more stringent in the coming years.

Even if anyone raises general question about safety-rating of a car (that has been tested previously) on the basis of new rules, Tata or anyone can confidently say that the car has been tested as per previous rules on this date & it delivered 5-star rating. It was designed to meet the rule applicable at that time & it delivered a fantastic 5-stars.

Regarding your point about the addition of more safety features in cars.
Its simple. When the new rule comes into force, it'll simply force the manufacturers to add more safety features. So, beneficial to customer & of course good for the manufacturer that focuses more on safety.

Till then, the current cars that got 5-star safety ratings will continue to get advertised as is which is alright. And if any facelift & new generation gets launched in the new-rule time frame, they'll have to rework on safety parameters & make it compliant.

[VW2010]

However, I feel cars missing basic safety features like ESC and side and curtain airbags should not be given a rating over 3 starts. 4 stars should be awarded for having ESC and 6 plus airbags while 5 stars should be limited to the aforementioned features plus autonomous emergency braking being available as a standard feature

Add all that to my Nano. You can claim or assume it is 5 star and feel safe while I am 100% sure it is not even 1 star rated. Luckily these tests are not performed like feature list and based on injury to the dummy and severity of injury to the dummy. Anyway today it is not a claim and it is a real test that is accepted by many buyers

[arjab]

Originally Posted by busydrive

It shows the capability of the platform.

Unbeknownst to many, all Tata passenger cars on their respective platforms underwent crash tests during their development phase at Tata Motors Pune plant.

Tata Motors was the only car manufacturer in India who had a full fledged crash testing facility at their Pune plant. From the days of the original Indica, (X-0 platform which also underpins the present day Tiago & Tigor models), to the Vista/Manza/Bolt/Zest/Nexon,(X-1), Aria/Hexa(X-2), Nano(X-3) and now the X-451(Altroz & derivatives).

In the early 2000's the reference point were the EuroNCAP test criteria. Because the Vista and it's derivatives were planned for exports to mainland EU. And that's the reason why the X-1 platform with minor modifications could achieve a 5-star in the Nexon; as the base platform was already package protected for EuroNCAP.

It's heartening to see Indian domestic car manufacturers, like Tata & Mahindra, taking up the cudgels on behalf of safety so seriously, and providing good levels of passenger protection at a competitive sticker price.
Simultaneously it's quite saddening to witness our market leader and other competitor companies, yet to up their game. All the more ironical since these global players with their models mostly meet the latest EuroNCAP and U.S. IIHSA/FMVSS criterion for safety.

For long we Indians have been given the short shrift as far as value of life was concerned. Life in India is possibly the cheapest commodity!

Hopefully, at least, in the automotive sphere in India, that is starting to change.

[Lobogris]

Originally Posted by PrasannaDhana

It's not just a claim. It's a proven fact that these cars are safer.

Now even a global NCAP 5 star rating loses value. Why? Because budget Tata cars get the same rating as much expensive international cars? That's sad!

Did 6 airbags matter in Seltos crash test? Or did the driver airbag give a better crash rating in the kwid? Nopes.

Why can't we, for once appreciate that a manufacturer is delivering cars with stable body structure at budget prices?

Guess we all have been used to being "vocal for local". Vocally negative about anything local that is.

You are misunderstanding my point. Nothing negative about Tata in particular. My point was that the highest safety rating of 5 stars should not be assigned to cars without important safety features being present. Most people are only going to go by the star rating and assume it is safe. Very few of them would look up the exact points scored. Let me give you an example of the Nexon EV. Everyone assumes it is a safe car as it scored 5 stars. However, Tata has removed stability control from the EV to cut cost while it is present on the ICE Nexon. Most buyers won’t be able to go into such details and would simply go with the 5 star rating. All I am saying is that the highest rating should be given to vehicles providing the maximum safety which includes safe body but also other aides like airbags, stability control etc. It has nothing to do with the cost of the vehicle. As an example, MG and Mahindra have provided it on far cheaper vehicles compared to Volvo.

Originally Posted by The Rationalist

There's not only a rating, but there is points also assigned. People can compare and decide which is better.

About Tata claiming 5*, they can only give a car and it's GNCAP who has set the test parameters. If the test parameters changes, GNCAP can test again. What's the fault of Tata here? They should have waited for new regulations to be implemented? All the cars which had 5* ratings in all countries had gone through the same issue when regulations became stricter.

I am not blaming Tata. All I want is for the ratings system to be changed and some of it is happening from next year.